Heroes Among Us: USAF Master Sgt. Adolf Lee

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - “The school desegregation had just come down in ‘54. And the military under President Truman had been integrated into the latter 50′s. So, when I went in, electronics was not my first choice. I wanted to be a policeman believe it or not,” Master Sgt. Lee said.

USAF Master Sergeant Adolph Lee spent more than two decades serving in both the Navy and Air Force. He traveled all over the world but always seems to la­­nd in South Georgia.

“I learned so much from the service,” said Lee. “When I left Albany, I was just a little country boy. I had never been past Leesburg, Sylvester. The best thing I could’ve done was to come back to Albany. I found out going overseas that Albany is just as good as a place as and better than a lot.”

He served alongside his lifelong best friend, Norman, who’s also from Albany.

“We were the brothers that we never had. He was my best man I was his best man at our weddings. We went to school together. We’ve just been together all our lives. He’s been married one year longer, he and his wife. The wife and I, if she had lived to June the 17th, would’ve been 66 years. And they’re 67 years.”

Lee says his time in the military sewed his life together in ways he could’ve never imagined.

“To make a long story short, the wife and I went back to Japan where we stayed for four years. We weren’t fortunate enough to have children. But while we were in Japan, we adopted our son from Korea, which was the blessing of our lives,” Lee said.

Blessing is a word he uses often in life.

“I’ve been blessed in life. I mean, I pray often. I don’t know why God blessed me so much but he must keep me around here for something.”

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